Live Bands 2009 - Mediaeval Babes Birmingham Cathedral 21/12

Emily & Bev

Ummmmm Mulled Wine...

Esther


Esther & Katherine

Bev Lee Harling

'The cat the got the cream'

I had got to hear about the Mediaeval Babes through Emily Ovenden (Pythia, Celtic Legend). This was my first opportunity to witness in the flesh , or so to speak

The Babes sing in Middle English, Medieval Latin and Spanish, which made for an incredibly diverse evening.

This was the second time that they had played inside Birmingham's historic cathedral, which made for a perfect setting. As it was just before Christmas the atmosphere was just right for a rich variety of medieval songs and poetry. The lyrics are taken from medieval texts and setting them to original scores using medieval and classical instruments.

The Babes delivered a two hour set split by a twenty minute interval. During which time I managed to knock back a couple of large glasses of Mulled Wine and a Red wine when the Mulled had run dry. Oh and yes I did put a donation into the collecting plate !
For some reason I have to say I enjoyed the ' second half' a little more .......

Classics such as Undrentide, Kinderly and Sunrise all went down well. Along with a few tracks from the latest album 'Illumination'
Other tracks included The Blacksmiths and Desert Rose which got the audience clapping along.

All of the Babes contribute something a little different and gel together beautifully.

My only slight complaint (apart from Mulled Wine running out) was that more Christmas themed songs were not performed. Particularly something like Gaudette which would have fitted perfectly .

The Babes are as follows:

• Esther Dee
• Emily Ovenden
• Sarah Kayte Foster
• Bev Lee Harling
• Melpomeni
  
• Katherine Blake (Founder)
  

http://www.mediaevalbaebes.com/home.html